Loggins & Messina: Angry Eyes
[purchase]
This song clearly depicts someone with a serious Wrath issue. It's from the accidental but wildly successful duo of Jim Messina and Kenny Loggins. Messina was a former member of both Buffalo Springfield and Poco who had turned toward record producing when he met songwriter Loggins. He initially agreed to produce Loggins' first album in 1972 and ended up performing as well on Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina Sittin' In. That same year they released this eponymous record.
The long version of Angry Eyes is posted here (a less-than-3-minute version appears on their greatest hits). It's noteworthy for its long jazz-rock jam---that's Al Garth soloing on sax and Messina on guitar. Remember, Steely Dan hadn't yet made the jazz-rock sound de rigueur yet, so it was pretty progressive for a couple of country-rock dudes. Hell, country-rock wasn't even that old then, either.
I like the imagery comparing "angry eyes" to a tangible weapon. I've included a subtle tip of the hat to a manga character with his own anger issues – my image shows Light Yagami from Death Note. Light's anger can actually kill people, so this song kinda suits, I think.
